Bobbin supply device for looms



All@ 10, 1965 w. NAUEN ETAL 3,199,544

BOBBIN SUPPLY DEVICE FOR LOOMS Filed Oct. l5, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet l Fig.7

INVENTOILS Aug. 10, 1965 w. NAUEN ETAL.

BOBBIN SUPPLY DEVICE FOR LOOMS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. l5, 1962 INVEN TOR Aug. 10, 1965 w. NAUEN ETAL 3,199,544

BOBBIN SUPPLY DEVICE FOR LOOMS Filed 001'.. l5, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 3Aug. 10, 1965 w. NAUEN ETAL.

BOBBIN SUPPLY DEVICE FOR LOOMS 5 sheets-sheet 4 Filed Oct. l5, 1962 Aug.10, 1965 w. NAUEN ETAL 3,199,544

BOBBIN SUPPLY DEVICE FOR LOOMS Filed OG.. 15, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTORS United States Patent O 3,199,544 BBBEJ SUPPLY DTIJHCE FR LGGMSWilhelm Nauen and W. l. Heinrich Fliirrnann, Krefeld, Germany, assignorsto Maschinenfabrik Carl Zangs Aktiengesellschaft, Krefeld, Germany iiiedGet. l5, 1962, Ser. No. 235,624 Claims priority, applicatian Germany,Get. 13, 1953., M 59,573 12 Claims. (Cl. 139-245) The present inventionrelates to an automatically operable bobbin supply device for use inconnection with looms. The heretofore known bobbin supply devices with adrop magazine or with a drum magazine have the drawback that theircapacity is rather limited. Therefore, large capacity magazines wereprovided which were detachable from the loom and which were loadedseparately and in loaded condition connected to the loom. All of theseheretofore known large capacity magazines require a bobbin point or tipwinding and thus a special spooling device in order to be able to movethe thread end of the bobbins to be changed to the required point.Furthermore, the above mentioned known constructions are rathercomplicated and therefore relatively easily liable to disturbances.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a deviceof the above motioned type which is simple in construction and caneasily be observed.

It is another object of this invention to provide an automatic bobbinsupply device as set forth in the preceding paragraph which will have animproved thread end grasping device.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an improvedbobbin receiving device which receives the bobbin and leads the same toa transfer position or station, which device will simplify the graspingof the thread end from the bobbin.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear moreclearly from the following specilication in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 represents a side view of the gripper arm according to theinvention and the control therefor.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic side View of the holding device for thebobbins.

FIG. 3 is a top View of FIG. 2 with the bobbin receiving box or funneland the control device for the release of the bobbins omitted whileshowing the thread end grasping device.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a lever system for actuating the thread endgrasping device.

FIG. 5 illustrates a slight modification of the thread end graspingdevice shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. l and also shows the lever system of FIG.4 in side view.

FIG. 7 illustrates a bobbin with point or tip winding.

FIG. 8 illustrates a still further modification of a thread end graspingand stripping device.

FIG. 9 is a section taken along the line IX-IX of FIG. 8.

General arrangement One of the foremost features of the presentinvention consists in that a bobbin supply box has arranged thereon acontrolled pneumatically operable bobbin gripper arm and a thread endstripper and grasping device. In this connection the gripper arm is sodesigned that the bobbins can be withdrawn from the bobbin supply boxonly individually and one after the other whereupon they are fed to abobbin receiving box, for instance in the form of a funnel, whichdirectly leads to the transfer station. The bobbin supply box and theentire device may be arranged ice independently of the loom proper sothat this device will not be affected by the vibration of the loom.

According to a further embodiment which has proved very advantageous,the gripper arm is controlled by means of a linkage-cam system which issupported by a stand independent of the loom proper. riihe bobbingripper withdraws one bobbin at a time, deposits the same into thebobbin receiving and feeding box and then returns to the bobbin supplybox for the withdrawal of a further bobbin. More specifically, thegripper arm is equipped with a nozzle which due to its own weight dropsdown on the respective bobbin in the bobbin supply box whereupon due tovacuum means said nozzle lifts the respective bobbin out of the supplybox and transfers the same to the transfer chute.

Adjacent to the transfer chute or feeder box there is provided a threadend stripper and grasping device which is mounted on a control armtiltable by a crank or the like and adapted to be controlled by means ofa roller and a stationary cam disc. The thread end grasping devicegrasps the thread end of the bobbin and transfers the same to a suctionpot in which the thread end is held fast in a manner known per se. Inorder to be sure that the thread end will be safely grasped, thegrasping device will with each bobbin carry out two or more strippingand grasping operations so that the thread end will be grasped also ifduring the first grasping operation itVA should be dropped oif and wasnot pulled off to the desired extent. The control arm is provided with apull cable for opening the spring-loaded grasping device. Depending onthe type of the bobbin, the jaws of the grasping device are providedwith a rough lining, for instance with foam rubber; if bobbins areemployed with a socalled point winding, the jaws are designed in form ofhooks.

V.S'Zrzsctural arrangement Referring now to the arrangement shown in thedrawings and in FlG. l thereof in particular, the device illustratedtherein comprises a transfer station including hammer li adjacent whichthere is provided a stand 2 supporting a bobbin supply box 4 carryingbobbins 5. The transfer station includes a discharge opening in chute 32at the lower end through which the bobbins are driven by hammer l. Thebobbin grasping or gripping device comprises a suction nozzle d which isconnected by a bore lil to a source of suction in the form of vacuumpump ll. lFor purposes of holding, moving and guiding the suction nozzleor gripping means 9 for taking the bobbins 5 out of the supply box 4, afour-bar linkage is provided comprising a lever arm Sil, a control arm57, an angle lever 6 and stand 2. rlhe linkage is substantially aparallelogram linkage and thus holds the lever arm 5d always in asubstantially vertical position. Suction nozzle 9 is secured to shaft 8which is tiltably supported at the free end of lever arm 50 while afurther lever 53, having an arm 53a, is journalled on shaft 7 which iscarried by stand 2 and also supports the angle lever d. Lever 53 isconnected to shaft S through the intervention of a linkage l2, l.

Angle lever 6, which effects up and down movement of nozzle 9, hasfixedly connected thereto a lever 51 which carries a roller 52. Thisroller is in continuous engagement with the cam surface of asymmetrically designed double cam 55, rotation of which cam will causelifting and lowering of angle lever 6 and, therefore, of the nozzle 9.

Lever 53, which effects swinging movement of nozzle 9, has its said arm53a provided with a roller 5d which is in engagement with and iscontrolled by a cam S5 to control the swinging or lateral movement ofthe front portion of the nozzle 9. Cams 55 and S6 are mounted on a shaftS which is rotatable by sprocket 53a thereon which is engaged by a chain59. Chain 59 is, in turn, driven by a sprocket wheel 31 mounted on ashaft 39a. Shaft 39a is drivingly connected to a rotating part (notshown) of the loom. Inasmuch as the bobbin supply device according tothe invention works only intermittently, the said drive comprises amechanical clutch (not shown), for instance a pin clutch, which isactuated by a magnetically controlled rotating wedge and, depending onthe adjustment of a time relay, will control two or more completerevolutions.

Operation of the bobbin gripper It may be assumed that the deviceoccupies the position shown in FIG. 1 in which the nozzle 9 is in itsnormal position, namely within the transfer chute or feeder box 32through which the bobbins 5 are fed to the transfer position or transferstation at the lower end of box 32. If a bobbin 5 is to be withdrawnfrom the supply box 4 and transferred to the feeder box 32, cam 56 isactuated by means of the chain drive S9. Cam 56 will then through roller52 and lever arm 51 actuate the angle lever 6. As a result thereof, thelever arm 5t) will be actuated and raised and nozzle 9 will be liftedout of feeder box 32 and raised to a level above the righthand edge(with regard to FIG. l) of the supply box 4. In view of the movement ofcam 55 and the actuation of roller 54, levers 53a, 53 and of lever 12connected to shaft 8 which mounts nozzle 9, said nozzle 9 will be movedtoward the left with regard to FIG. 1 for movement into the supply box4. The lowering of the nozzle 9 into the supply box 4 is made possibleby the continued rotation of cam disc 56. The vacuum pump 11 iscontrolled by a timer (not shown) in such a way that when the nozzleengages a bobbin in the supply box 4, the pump is turned on and createsa vacuum in hose 1t) thereby causing the nozzle to pick up therespective bobbin. This vacuum is maintained until the nozzle has beenmoved from the supplyk box 4 into the position in which the bobbin is tobe released, namely, into a position over the feeder box 32 adjacent thesaid supply box. When a bobbin is to be released from nozzle 9, thetimer operates to cut off the supply of vacuum to nozzle 9 and rthebobbin held thereby will be released into chute or transfer feeder Ibox32. The suction nozzle 9 is thus operable for transferring bobbins oneat a time from supply box 4 to a feeder box or transfer chute 324adjacent the supply Ibox.

Feeder box Referring now to FIG. 2, this figure illustrates the feederbox or chute 32, which is adjacent supply box 4, in somewhat moredetail. As will be seen from FIG. 2, the chute, which has afunnel-shaped contour, with a receiving opening and a discharge openingand a passage connecting said openings, has an abutment lever 60 whichis pivotally connected to a stud 60a supported by the feeder box 32. Asshown in FIG. 2, the inner arm 6tlb of abutment lever 6? extends intothe interior of the feeder box 32 and, more specifically, into the pathof .the bobbins moving toward the transfer position or transfer stationat the lower end of the box. The outer arm of abutment lever 6@ haslinked thereto a link 62 which in its turn is linked to a two-arm lever61 pivotally supported by a pivot 61a carried by an arm 61h which may beconnected to the feeder box 32 in any convenient manner. It will beappreciated that if lever 61 is turned in counterclockwise direction,links 62 is lifted Vand thereby turns two-arm lever 61 in clockwisedirection so as to withdraw the inner arm 60h out of the feeder box orchute thereby releasing a bobbin previously held thereby for movement tothe .discharge opening of the chute.

Operation of the feeder box 0r chute As previously mentioned, the nozzle9 transfers one bobbin at a time from the supply box 4 to the feeder box32. When during this transfer movement the nozzle 9 has reached theposition in which it is shown in FIG. 2, the vacuum in hose 10 is madeineffective whereupon the bobbin S carried by nozzle 9 will be releasedand will drop downwardly and thereby tilt levers 61 and 65) with theresult that the last supplied bobbin Sa will be released by the arm 6912and will roll downwardly against the other bobbins 5b in the lowerportion of the feeder box 32, whereas the bobbin 5 just released fromnozzle 9 will then take the place of bobbin 5a. It will be appreciatedthat as soon as bobbin 5 has been released by nozzle 9 and tilted lever61 in counterclockwise direction so as to pass by the said lever, thelever 61 will return to its previous position due to the weight of arm62 and lever arm 60e, and in which position the arm 6% again extendsinto thc feeder box so as to be able to stop bobbin 5 just released. Ifdesired, the return of lever 6)b into the interior of feeder box 32 maybe aided by a return spring for lever 60.

It will be appreciated that with this type of bobbin changing device itis necesstry to capture and to hold fast the free end of the thread onthe bobbin when the bobbin is shot into the shuttle.

With this in mind, the purpose of lever 66 is to stop the respectivelast inserted bobbin in the feeder box and keep the same spaced from thepreviously inserted bobbins in the right-hand portion of the feeder box(with regard to the drawing) so the free end of the thread therein canbe captured. With the bobbin thus stopped, a thread end grasping device37, which is arranged adjacent the feeder box 32, will be better able tograsp the free end of the thread of the last inserted bobbin.

Actimzng mechanism for the thread end grasping device As will be seenfrom FIG. 4, an arm 3S carrying grasping device 37 is pivotallyconnected by pivot 39 to an arm 26 which, in its turn, is pivotallysupported by a stationary horizontal pivot 27 which extends at rightangles to pivot 39. It will be appreciated that in this way arm 38 istiltable in a rst vertical plane in the direction of the arrow A andadditionally is tiltable in a second vertical plane perpendicular to therst vertical plane about the pivot 39.

The device of FIG. 4 comprises a worm wheel 29 which meshes with a worm30 keyed to shaft 30a to which is also keyed sprocket 3l (see alsoleft-hand side of FIG. 1) which is directly driven by a rotating part ofthe loom. Worm wheel 29 has secured thereto an arm 28 which is slidablyconnected to arm 26. It will thus be seen that when worm wheel 29 turns,arrn 26 will be turned from its solid position into its dot-dashposition of FIG. 4. The tilting movement of arm 38 in the verticaldirection about pivot 39 4is effected by means of a mechanism shown inFIG. 6. This mechanism comprises a stationary cam 41 on which rests aroller 40 carried by an arm 38a connected to arm 38. Thus, when arm 38is tilted in FIG. 4 from its 4solid position into its dot-dash position,roller 4t) will roll downwardly on cam 41 thereby causing a tiltingmovement of arm 38 is a vertical plane about pivot 39. The dot-dashposition of arm 3S in FIG. 4 represents the normal or rest position.bobbin, arm 33 moves from said dot-dash position into the solid lineposition shown in FIG. 4 (see also FIG. 6). The thread end graspingdevice also comprises a cable 42 by means of which the jaws 37a, 37b ofthe thread end grasping device 37 will be opened. The thread endgrasping operation is effected in the following manner.

Before the jaws 37a, 37b come into the range of the bobbin end with thethread thereon, pull cable 42 is actuated so as to open the jaws 37a,37b against the thrust of spring 46 which continuously urges said jawstoward each other. The jaws then grasp the adjacent bobbin endtherebetween whereupon lever 3S is again moved in the direction of thearrow A thereby pulling For purposes of grasping a thread end o f thethread off from the adjacent bobbin end and holding the respectivethread end between the jaws. When the lever 38 has reached its dot-dashposition in FiGS. 4 and 6, the thread end has been brought into therange of the mouth 44a of a suction pot 44 so that the suction effectwill hold the thread end whereupon the jaws 37a, 37b are pulled apart torelease the thread end previously grasped thereby.

Cable 42 is displaceably mounted in a flexible tube 42a (Bowden cable)which is connected at its upper end by means of a clamp 2b to a part ofthe machine frame (not shown). The free end of cable 42 is clamped to alonger arm 48a of an angle lever 48, for instance by means of a clamp 8band a clamping screw 48C. Angle lever 48 is tiltable about shaft 47 andhas connected to the free end of its shorter arm 48d a rotatablyjournalled roller Se engaging a cam 49. Cam 49 is connected to a shaft49a which is driven by shaft 39a thru the intervention of a transmission(not shown), which shaft also drives sprocket wheel 3l and worm 39. Aspring 66 is connected with its upper end to the longer arm 43a of anglelever 48 and has its other end connected to a part of the maclL'ne frame(not shown). Spring 65 continuously urges roller 48e against cam 49.

The gripper itself may have various forms. According to one form shownin FIGS. 8 and 9, the gripper comprises a holder 7d which is connectedto the arm 38. The holder 79 has connected thereto elastic arms 71, 72to which are connected the jaws 37a, 37b. The gripper comprises a holder7d in which are journalled the elastically supported arms 71, 72 whichare tiltable about shafts 73, 7d. Shafts 73, 74 are fixedly connected toholder 7. The ends 75, 75 of arms '71, 72 protruding beyond the shafts73, 74 are with regard to each other. Between the dared ends 75, 76extends the tip 77 of a wedge member 78, which wedge member has a bolt'79 connected thereto by means of which it is displaceably journalled ina straight manner within an oblong hole Si? in holder 7d. Bolt 79 hasconnected thereto a spring 8l. which has its other end connected toholder 79, e.g. by means of a bolt 82 lixedly connected to holder 7d.Spring 31 is so dimensioned that it is able to press the wedge 73against the thrust of the spring 46, which latter presses the arms 7l,72 apart and therefore the ends 75', 76 against each other between theends 75, 75 of the arms 7l, 72 and thereby presses the ends 75, 76 apartand the arms 71, 72 together. lf the gripper is to be brought from itsnormal or closed position into its opened position, cable 42 is pulledwith a force which is greater than the di terence between the forces ofsprings 45 and 81. ln this way, the hemisphere 83 connected to cable 42is displaced, which hemisphere acts upon the arm 84a of an angle lever8d which is tiltable about a shaft 85 connected to holder 7d. ln view ofthe action of hemisphere 83 on arm 84a of the angle lever 8d the latteris tilted about shaft S5. Consequently, arm 84h of angle lever Se actsupon the bolt 79 of wedge member 7S in such a way that the Wedge memberis displaced against the difference in the spring forces of spring 45and 31 so that the legs 7l, 72 are opened. When the force acting oncable 4t2 decreases, legs 71, 72 are closed again.

ln order .to facilitate the stripping off of the thread end from bobbin5, if a point winding system 63 is involved as shown in FIG. 7, it isadvantageous to equip the thread end grasping device 37 with toothsegments 64a and 64b as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. rfhese tooth segmentsare slightly arched and are preferably made of synthetic material, suchas polyethylene, so as to make sure that the thread or yarn will not bedamaged.

According to a further development of the invention, it may beadvantageous for special purposes to equip the jaws 37a, 37b withadditional stripper jaws 65a, 65b. The interior of the stripper jaws65a, 6Sb may be covered Wim a rough lining, as for instance foam rubber.

lt is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by nomeans, limited to the particular construction shown in the drawings butalso comprises any modifications within the scope of the appendedclaims.

What We claim is:

1. An automatically operable bobbin supply device for use in connectionwith looms, which includes: a bobbin supply box open at the top,pneumatically operable bobbin gripper means for grasping and releasingbobbins, chute means also open at the top and adapted for feedingbobbins to a transfer station, and intermittently operable meansoperatively connected to said bobbin gripper means and operable to movesaid gripper means into said bobbin supply box from above for picking up.a bobbin therefrom and then to move said gripper means together withthe bobbin gripped thereby into said chute means from above to deliverthe bobbin to the chute means.

2. An automatically operable bobbin supply device for use in connectionwith looms, which includes: a bobbin supply box open at the top,pneumatically operable bobbin gripper means for grasping and releasingbobbins, chute means also open at the top and adapted for feedingbobbins to a transfer stat-ion, and intermittently operable meansincluding a lever system yand cam means controlling said lever system,said means being operatively con nectedto said bobbin gripper means andbeing operable to move said gripper means into said bobbin supply boxfrom above for picking up a bobbin therefrom and then to move saidgripper means together with the bobbin gripped thereby into said chutemeans from above -to deliver the bobbin to the chute means.

3. A bobbin supply device according to claim 1, which includes anindependent stand supporting said bobbin supply device.

4. An'autom'atically operable bobbin supply device for use in connectionwith looms, which includes: a stand, a bobbin supply box open at the topsupported by said stand, pneumatically operable bobbin gripper means forgrasping and releasing bobbins, chute means also open at the top andadapted for feeding bobbins to a transfer station, and intermittentlyoperable means including a lever system having one lever pivotallyconnected to said stand and also including cam means operativelyconnected with said lever system to impart cyclic motion thereto, saidmeans being operable to move said gripper means into said bobbin supplybox from above for picking up a bobbin therefrom and then to move saidgripper means together with the bobbin gripped thereby into said `chutemeans from above to deliver the bobbin to the chute means.

5. An automatically operable bobbin supply device for use in connectionwith looms, which includes: a bobbin supply box, pneumatically operablebobbin gripper means lfor grasping and releasing bobbins, chute meansfor feeding bobbins to a transfer station, means operatively connectedto said bobbin gripper means and including a lever system to impartcyclic motion thereto and two cams operatively connected with said leversystem, one of said cams being designed as symmetric double cam, acommon shaft supporting both of said cams, and a drive drivinglyconnected to said shaft for driving same, said means being operable tomove said gripper means into said bobbin supply box for picking up abobbin therefrom and subsequently transferring the same to said chutemeans.

6. A bobbin supply device according to claim 1, in which said chutemeans is arranged to receive a plurality of bobbins .and which comprisesretainer means in said chute means operable to retain the bobbin las-treceived by said chute means until the next bobbin is released into saidchute means.

7. A feeding device for use in connection with looms for feeding bobbinsto a transfer station, which comprises: chute means having a receivingopening for receiving bobbins from a bobbin depositing device and `alsohaving a discharge opening for releasing a bobbin to a loom, and formingpart of said transfer station, said chute means also including meansinterconnecting said receiving opening and said discharge opening, firstlever means comprising a stop arm normally extending into said passagemeans and operable to block the movement of a bobbin between said stoparm and said receiving opening, second lever means operatively connectedto said rst lever means and operable by a bobbin released thereupon fortemporarily withdrawing said stop arm from said passage means to therebypermit a bobbin stopped by said stop arm prior to the withdrawal thereofto move toward said discharge opening, and means for withdrawing saidstop arm from said passage means to release a bobbin held thereby.

8. An automatically operable bobbin supply device for use in connectionwith looms, which includes: a stand, -a bobbin supply box supported bysaid stand, pneumatically operable bobbin gripper means for grasping andreleasing bobbins, chute means for feeding bobbins to a transferstation, means including a lever system having one lever pivotallyconnected to said stand and also including cam means operativelyconnected with said lever system to impart cyclic motion thereto, saidmeans being operable to move said gripper means into said bobbin supplybox for picking up a bobbin therefrom and subsequently transferring thesame to said chute means, drive means drivingly connected to said cammeans, thread end grasping means arranged adjacent said chute means forgrasping the thread end of a bobbin therein, and control lever meansdrivingly connected to said drive means for actuating said thread endgrasping means.

9. A device according to claim S, in which said thread end graspingmeans includes grasping jaws provided with curved toothed sections.

10. A device according to claim 9, in which said toothed sections are ofsynthetic material.

11. A device according to claim 9, in which the jaws of said thread endgrasping means are provided with extensions acting as addi-tionalstrippers and provided on the inside thereof with a soft lining.

ft2. An automatically operable bobbin supply device for use inconnection with looms, which includes: a stand, a bobbin supply boxsupported by said stand, pneumatically operable bobbin gripper means forgrasping and releasing bobbins, chute means for feeding bobbins to atransfer station, means including a lever system having one leverpivotally connected to said stand and also including cam meansoperatively connected with said lever system to impart cyclic motionthereto, said means being operable to move said gripper means into saidbobbin supply box for picking up a bobbin therefrom and subsequentlytransferring the same to said chute means, drive means drivinglyconnected to said cam means, thread end grasping means arranged adjacentsaid chute means for grasping the thread end of a bobbin therein,Suction means arranged laterally of said chute means, and control levermeans drivingly connected to said drive means for actuating said threadend grasping means and causing the same to grasp a thread end and movingthe latter to said suction means to be attracted and held by the latter,

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,039,547 9/12Koechlin 139-257 1,074,629 10/ 13 Koechlin 139-245 1,142,569 6/15Koechlin 139-257 2,957,497 10/60 Baumann 139-245 3,100,003 8/63 Feliks139-128 3,122,268 2/64 Lutz et al 139-245 DONALD W. PARKER, Prima/'yExaminer RUSSELL C. MADER, Examiner.

1. AN AUTOMATICALLY OPERABLE BOBBIN SUPPLY DEVICE FOR USE IN CONNECTIONWITH LOOMS, WHICH INCLUDES: A BOBBIN SUPPLY BOX OPEN AT THE TOP,PNEUMATICALLY OPERABLE BOBBIN GRIPPER MEANS FOR GRASPING AND RELEASINGBOBBINS, CHUTE MEANS ALSO OPEN AT THE TOP AND ADAPTED FOR FEEDINGBOBBINS TO A TRANSFER STATION, SAND INTERMITTENTLY OPERABLE MEANSOPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID BOBBIN GRIPPER MEANS AND OPERABLE TO MOVESAID GRIPPER MEANS INTO SAID BOBBIN SUPPLY BOX FROM ABOVE FOR PICKING UPA BOBBIN THEREFROM AND THEN TO MOVE SAID GRIPPER MEANS TOGETHER WITH THEBOBBIN GRIPPED THEREBY INTO SAID CHUTE MEANS FROM ABOVE TO DELIVER THEBOBBIN TO THE CHUTE MEANS.